The rejected proposal

Nawaki did not leave.

After sharing out the two skewers of three-colored dango he had brought, he sat in the empty seat beside Amamiya Maki.

His legs swung beneath the chair, and he showed no intention of returning to the third-year classroom.

Nonō was already seated nearby, her head lowered over a medical handbook.

Minato Namikaze had also turned around from the front row, still holding his lunch box.

Nawaki first glanced at Nonō, then turned toward Minato, before finally settling his gaze back on Amamiya Maki.

His brown eyes plainly said one thing: I still have a whole pile of questions for you.

"Maki, do you know the real reasons behind it?"

Amamiya Maki pushed the remaining half-skewer of dango aside, leaned lightly against his chair, and glanced at him.

Nawaki sounded unusually solemn. This was no idle small talk; he sincerely wanted a complete answer.

Amamiya Maki considered for a moment, then straightened the bamboo skewer on the desk as neatly as if it were a throwing kunai that had been laid askew.

"First, the financial cost is simply too high."

"Your sister's proposal isn't as simple as adding a few beds to Konoha Hospital."

"She plans to assign a fully trained medical ninja to every combat squad."

"Do you know what that means?"

"Every year, Konoha would have to divert at least twenty to thirty percent of its Ninja Academy graduates."

"Those recruits couldn't go to the front lines to carry out missions. They would all be sent to specialize in Medical Ninjutsu."

"A full training cycle takes an entire year. Throughout that year, they wouldn't earn mission fees or generate revenue, yet they'd keep consuming huge quantities of medicinal herbs and teaching resources."

"Once they finished training, each squad would receive one medical ninja. Konoha has countless combat squads of all sizes. The expense would be almost impossible to estimate."

"The Hokage's funds don't appear out of thin air. Every bit of money and supplies comes from mission fees and the daimyo's fixed allocations."

"The daimyo sets a clear limit on his annual funding for Konoha. Whenever the budget is exceeded, the Third has to travel to the capital himself to negotiate and ask for favors."

"Rather than pour enormous sums into a medical system that won't produce immediate results in combat, they would rather buy Explosive Tags in bulk."

"Once those Explosive Tags are purchased, they can be used against the enemy the very next day. They work quickly, and the benefits are obvious."

Nawaki instinctively opened his mouth, wanting to argue.

But he knew nothing about Konoha's finances or the rules governing the daimyo's funding. The words reached his lips, only to be swallowed back down.

"Second, money is only one part of why the proposal was rejected. It isn't the whole reason."

"The Third has been privately supporting Orochimaru's various human experiments."

"Orochimaru's research can quickly improve overall combat strength, refine existing ninjutsu, develop new forbidden techniques, and analyze other clans' kekkei genkai. All of those provide tangible increases in combat power and can be put to use on the battlefield within a few months."

"By contrast, Tsunade's medical ninja system would take at least three to five years to show results on a broader scale."

"If you were in charge of Konoha, which would you prioritize with your limited funds?"

Nawaki's brows drew tightly together.

Deep down, he did not want to believe that his respected teacher, Orochimaru, had indirectly become an obstacle to his sister's dream. Yet he could not find a single argument against it.

"Third, the Third believes Konoha simply doesn't need this system right now."

"Konoha is firmly established as the greatest village in the Shinobi World. Its number of Jonin dwarfs those of the other four major hidden villages, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki remains safely stationed within the village, and the Sannin's reputation resounds throughout the Five Great Nations."

"In the eyes of Konoha High Command, with the village at the height of its power, a complete medical ninja system is merely a nice extra, not a necessity for survival. Naturally, they see no reason to spend a fortune implementing it."

Amamiya Maki rolled the bamboo skewer between his fingers, his tone flat and detached, as though he were reading a weather forecast that had nothing to do with him.

He silently supplied the rest of what he had left unsaid.

Only when Sunagakure, Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure mobilized simultaneously, opening four fronts and leaving Konoha scrambling against enemies on every side, would they understand how important a complete medical system truly was.

Only when the five major hidden villages joined in exerting pressure, with war closing in on every side, would they understand what a necessity was.

"So that's how it is..."

Nawaki's voice was low and faint. Then he suddenly tipped his head back and laughed aloud.

His bright laughter echoed through the classroom. Minato glanced over at the sound, and Nonō raised her eyes as well.

"Maki, you're incredible!"

"No wonder Grandpa Sarutobi came to our class specifically to praise your essay. You explain things even more clearly than our third-year teacher!"

"I never thought of any of those complicated interests and connections."

"My sister never tells me about this, and Master Orochimaru never mentions it either. Everyone keeps it from me. You're the only one willing to tell me the truth!"

His smile was pure and unclouded, without a trace of gloom in his eyes. His brown irises shone brilliantly in the midday sunlight.

Looking at the boy's radiant smile, Amamiya Maki suddenly felt that Hashirama Senju's blood truly had left a distinctive mark on Nawaki.

It had nothing to do with Wood Release or immense strength. It was an innate gentleness that could warm everyone around him.

"Maki, I've spent a long time thinking over what you told me last time."

"You were right. My background gave me a far better starting point than most ninja."

"My grandfather was the First Hokage, my grandmother is Mito Uzumaki, my older sister is Tsunade, and my teacher is Orochimaru."

"I've never lacked any resources for training."

"Opportunities other people struggle with everything they have to reach were mine for the taking from birth."

"That's exactly why I have to stand ahead of everyone else."

"Not under the labels of Hashirama Senju's grandson or Tsunade's little brother, but proving myself as Senju Nawaki."

"I want everyone to see that even though I was born into a Hokage's family, I'm sincerely willing to risk my life to protect Konoha."

"I'm willing to always charge at the very front."

"So I won't just let my sister's rejected proposal go."

"One day, I'll definitely help her fulfill that wish."

"That's the goal I've set for myself."

Amamiya Maki watched him quietly.

The dark-brown-haired boy before him laid his heart bare without reservation.

But he clearly remembered Nawaki's fate in this timeline-sent to war at twelve, killed by exploding Explosive Tags, with not even his remains left behind.

He had no power to overturn the course of the war, no Kamui like Obito, no Rinnegan like Madara, and certainly no Wood Release like Hashirama.

All he had was a system and a tongue capable of piercing people's hearts and moving them.

"You're looking at this the wrong way."

"Whether your sister's proposal gets implemented has absolutely nothing to do with whether you charge at the very front of the battlefield."

"What you should be thinking about right now isn't how to prove yourself."

"It's how to discover what you truly want."

"Set aside being the First Hokage's grandson, Tsunade's brother, and all the expectations others place on you. Quiet your mind and ask yourself what kind of ninja Senju Nawaki himself wants to become."

"Until you find that answer, don't rush off to a dangerous front line."

"Remember this: only by staying alive can you protect anything."

Nawaki froze.

His lips moved slightly, and his brown eyes opened wide.

A moment later, his eyes reddened.

These were not tears of hurt from having a weakness exposed. He was moved because, for the first time in so long, someone had truly understood him and cared about him.

Hot tears kept spilling from the corners of his eyes. He raised his sleeve to wipe them away again and again, but they would not stop.

"Maki, you jerk, how can you say something like that!"

He scrubbed hard at his cheeks, only for the tears to flow even faster.

"No one's ever told me anything like that."

"My sister only tells me not to act rashly. Master Orochimaru only comments on how my training is still lacking. Grandpa Sarutobi only praises my talent and says I have a bright future."

"You're the first person who's ever told me straight out that I have to stay alive."

"I'm just so touched... sob..."

"Stop crying."

"You're getting snot all over my clothes."

"You're a third-year senior, for crying out loud. Don't bawl in front of your juniors. You'll cry away the Senju Clan's dignity."

"But after what you just said, I can't help crying... sob..."

Nawaki wiped his face haphazardly again, then casually smeared the snot on the back of his hand onto his trouser leg.

Amamiya Maki stared at the stained trousers and fell silent for a brief moment.

"Those trousers are new ones your sister just bought you, aren't they?"

"Yeah... sob... how did you know?"

"Just a guess."

[Detected: host has inflicted mental pressure on "Senju Nawaki"

Pressure +18

Obtained: vitality fragments ×2.]

After a while, Nawaki finally managed to stop crying.

He stuffed the last half-piece of dango into his mouth, abruptly stood up, drew a deep breath, and scrubbed the tear tracks from his face with his sleeve.

He no longer looked like the third-year senior who had been sobbing with tears and snot streaming down his face.

Only his brown eyes still glistened. Paired with his brilliant smile, they were like a sky that had suddenly cleared after a downpour.

"Maki, thank you."

"I've made up my mind. Starting today, I'll take the time to seriously think about what kind of ninja I want to become."

"As soon as I figure it out, you'll be the first person I tell."

"And you'd better not lecture me again then!"

Amamiya Maki neatly laid the used bamboo skewer at the corner of his desk and gave a slight nod.

Nawaki took two steps toward the classroom door, then doubled back, pulled a crumpled tissue from his pocket, and gently placed it on Amamiya Maki's desk.

"Here, this is for you."

"I accidentally got snot on the corner of your desk earlier. I'm really sorry."

Before his words had fully faded, and without waiting for Amamiya Maki's response, he turned and dashed out of the classroom.

Quick footsteps pattered down the corridor, followed by a dull thud. Apparently, he had been in too much of a hurry to watch where he was going and had collided with someone.

Nawaki's flustered apologies followed immediately. "Ah, sorry, sorry! I was running too fast and didn't look where I was going!"

"It's all right, Nawaki. Did you hurt your forehead?"

"No, no, my forehead's really tough. My sister says it's just as hard as my grandfather's!"

Amamiya Maki leaned back in his chair, looking at the crumpled tissue on his desk and silently marveling at the strength of Hashirama Senju's bloodline.

Vitality fragments certainly lived up to their name.